INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis-based trio is creating viral content that pushes the limits — and millions of people are watching.
Young Mantis, a 27-year-old from Fishers, is the face of the franchise. He got laid off from Barstool Sports during the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately started his own business.
His partners are Brandon Ames, 26, who he met in a business class at IUPUI in 2016, and Ames' childhood friend, 26-year-old Michael Cima.
The trio curates and sells 31Heaven clothing and creates video shorts for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook.
The team's goal is to make you laugh with on-camera pranks.
For example, Mantis put on a jersey and tried to check himself into an IUPUI basketball game; he grabbed a blue vest and started organizing shelves at Walmart; he went to Arby's and ordered a non-existent Shrek sandwich.
"I want to show that anyone, anywhere can make it if you figure out how to appeal to the masses and be authentic," Mantis said.
The team loves sports, and much of the viral content involves various free-throw shooting challenges. It's caught the attention of sports elites like Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Halliburton and Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverly. Mantis recently streamed an 82-hour free throw event.
"I locked myself in the gym until my goal was to hit 100 free throws in a row, but the last one had to be blindfolded," Mantis said.
In the end, he made 99 straight free throws four times, but the blindfold was a block to reaching 100.
"The job's not finished, more details soon," Mantis said.
Mantis edited the 3 1/2-day live stream to a 12-minute short and is currently dreaming up the next shooting scenario.
With each storyline the team creates, new followers find Mantis. The team says followers surged at the end of 2023.
"We instantly got 100,000 subscribers on YouTube in one month," Mantis said.
Some of the shtick is Mantis poking fun at his distinctive appearance. He calls his spine "bent" and says he has low muscle tone and a limited range of motion.
"There's no name for what I have. But I'm uniquely built for this gig," Mantis said.
The team is intensely focused on tweaking the ordinary to elicit a laugh.
"I'm spending every single day on a new idea or something to grab people's attention," Mantis said.
Central Indiana is his studio, so heads up: If Mantis finds you, it's likely the camera is rolling and the world is watching.